Understanding Symptoms of High Blood Pressure Before it's Too Late

Right now, more than 60 million Americans suffer from high blood pressure (also known as hypertension). That is 1 out of every 4 adults older than 18, and most go untreated. How is it that so many could be affected by this disorder and not have treatment? Sadly, the answer is because there are very few signs and no specific symptoms that point to the problem early on, and therefore, unless you visit a doctor regularly, you could be a walking time bomb for this silent killer.

Blood pressure measures the force of the blood pushing against the walls of the arteries when the heart beats and is at rest. This is represented by two numbers (i.e. 115/73). Normal blood pressure is considered to be under 120 / under 80. Pre-hypertension is 120-139 / 80-89. Stage one hypertension falls around 140-159 / 90-99. And lastly stage two hypertension is 160 and higher / 100 and higher. Through out the day your blood pressure can naturally rise and fall on its own based on a number of factors. So just because you may take a reading once and have a high set of numbers, doesn't mean you have high blood pressure. Doctors will want to track your readings over the course of a few weeks, and at different periods of time during a day to get a good average before making a diagnosis.

Who is at risk?

There is no magic formula to figure out who is and isn't at risk. In fact, over 90-95% of those diagnosed with high blood pressure have no known cause to have it. Certain things in your lifestyle or genetic makeup, however, can contribute to whether or not you are more prone to it. If you are overweight for example, you are 2 times more at risk to having hypertension than those who are not. Heavy drinkers, smokers, diets high in sodium, those who have a family history of high blood pressure, or have diabetes are also at a much higher risk. With age your chances increase as well. Studies show 75% of women and 55% of men over the age of 75 are afflicted. Although stress can contribute to a quick increase of blood pressure, it is now believed it is not a direct contributor to long term high blood pressure, however severe and prolonged stress still can pose health concerns.

If even one of the descriptions in the above paragraph describes you, make sure you have a yearly physical with your doctor. At the age of 27, I was diagnosed as being pre-hypertension to borderline stage one hypertension. I was about 40 lbs overweight, yet very active, wasn't much of a drinker and had quit smoking a year prior. The first thing my doctor told me to do was to keep track of my food intake, specifically the amount of sodium in my daily diet. One days worth of looking at nutrition labels appalled me. My sodium intake was two to three times the amount of the daily recommended. I discovered just about anything that is in a can, including vegetables, is so packed full of sodium as a preservative it is an invitation to health problems. I have since started eating more fresh foods, using sea salt as a substitute to table salt, and lost some of that excess weight. Now at the age of 31 I have dropped into the normal to borderline pre-hypertension range and feel great.

Are there any signs and symptoms?

Most with pre-hypertension to stage one hypertension will not have any symptoms or may only have minor ones that appear here or there so they are never linked to what feels like a specific problem and a trip to the doctor. Headaches, fatigue, nausea and dizziness are the most common, and as you can see can be contributed to any number of ailments. A bit more severe are recurring nose bleeds, blurred vision, vomiting, restlessness and shortness of breath. With time those with high blood pressure, particularly those with higher end stage one to stage two, will start to develop damage to vital organs such as the brain, eye, heart and kidneys. In these later stages severe headaches are common, along with loss of vision, confusion, seizures, and drowsiness. If left untreated, kidney failure, coma, heart attacks, strokes, aneurysms and quite possibly death will occur.

In today's society of fast food and fast living, new, undiagnosed cases of hypertension are on the rise. Surprisingly this disease is one that could be avoided or controlled with just a few smart choices to ones lifestyle. Exercising every day, cutting back on daily alcohol intake, watching how much sodium you put into your body and losing even 10 pounds of excess weight can all have long lasting and in some cases preventative effects. Most importantly, if you have any questions or concerns speak with your health care professional.